What’s a thesis summary?

All pupils to ask this query must know that it’s a starting point or first chapter of their educational task.

Research Experience – Writing a Thesis Overview

This is the first part of your overview. Building a backdrop of your selected subject will not just assist you in knowing more concerning the subject, however it also assists readers in understanding why the common research field is interesting, problematic, central, as well as important, etc.

Elements of a Summary

Here are the key elements your introduction must comprise of:

• Subject and background: what do your readers should know to comprehend your thesis?
• Emphasis and room: what parts of the stimulating subject you will emphasize in the manuscript?
• Significance importance: how does your research debate influence current documents on this topic?
• Queries and research purposes: what’s the key objective of your study?

How to Begin Your Overview?

Despite the fact that the overview’s function is to start your thesis, this part should not be composed initially.

Subject and Background

Begin your educational task by presenting the subject of your thesis. Offer the vital background records to your readers to know the subject better.

Example topic

Youth’s approach to deviations in US politics

Concentration and Possibility

When you’ve familiarized the subject of your study, it’s time to reduce it and demonstrate to readers the extent of your work. Develop the instances:

• What field are you going to examine?
• What period does your examination cover?

Example focus

The USA pupils’ involvement in the US policies

Significance and Relevance 

It is vital to demonstrate to readers your motivation for investigating, how it influences current papers on this topic, and what new stuffs it comprises. 

Instance significance and relevance

In earlier years, the pupils’ response to the US government shifting was pretty noteworthy. 

Queries and Research Goals

It is the most significant part of your complete research since you decide your thesis’s prospects. Here you should make your research queries and purposes depending on your discipline, subject, and concentration.

Example research query

How do high school pupils in Washington involve in the US government’s policies?

Additional Queries and pieces of Advice

How vital is the overview of my thesis? Both very as well as not very. The introduction matters because it’s the reader’s first impression of your dissertation.

When should I compose my summary? Both alongside as well as at the finish. Begin nearly in the middle.

If I have an overview, do I also require a finish? Not essentially. Books require a conclusion. But theses are not books. They are part of your teaching, not just a demo of it.

What is the academic referencing?

Academic referencing is a way of acknowledging the sources you picked information for your work. It also helps readers to visit the sources you’ve cited easily. There are three main styles of scholarly referencing, but they also come in categories. The stages for referencing include

• The author of the work
• The title of the work
• The type of publication (e.g., webpage, journal article, a whole book, book chapter)
• The publication date
• The publisher and place of publication
• You can also add further information like (volume and issue number, page range) to help readers

As already mentioned, citations are critical in academic work because it prevents

• Being accused of plagiarism
• Helps readers to revisit the sources for further engagements
• Proves that your work has been thoroughly researched

Types of referencing systems you can use

Don’t have the luxury of choosing from a vast list of referencing styles for your dissertation. It is either you use the

1. Parenthetical and footnote referencing (for Arts and Humanities) or
2. Parenthetical and numerical styles (for Arts or Humanities)

Most universities have their preferred style for citation. However, if you have the freedom to choose one for yourself, you should ask yourself the following

• How many do you intend to quote?
• Would you briefly cite those sources or use them extensively?
• Are you going for direct quotes or paraphrasing?

How to reference your dissertation correctly and effectively

1.    Employ a systematic approach

You are surely going to have hundreds of sources to cite when referencing a dissertation. It is always difficult to remember all your cited sources and attach its bibliographic details if you plan to leave referencing until the end. Therefore, you need to adopt a practical, systematic approach to tracking and organizing all your sources. This would help you in later retrieval and use in your bibliography and in-text.

2.    Use a software

Thanks to technology, there are several ways to store or keep track of your sources and research. You can use a spreadsheet, notepad, or reference management software, which has proven to be very efficient. Some of the popular software for citation includes RefWorks, EndNote, and Zotero. These software packages save time, are easy to retrieval, and very efficient.

Styles of referencing systems

1.    Parenthetical System

The parenthetical system is the most common and most used citation style in academia. It allows readers to trace a source in the reference list easily. The parenthetical reference uses the author’s last name, followed by the date of publication.

Examples of the parenthetical system include the,

• Chicago (author-date)
• MLA (Modern Language Association)
• Harvard
• APA (American Psychological Association)

2.    Footnote/endnote referencing styles

This referencing style is common in the Arts and Humanities disciplines and is mostly used in the UK and Commonwealth countries. Examples of footnote styles are

• MHRA (Modern Humanities Research Association)
• Oxford
• Chicago (footnote style)

3.    Numbered referencing styles

Numbered referencing is mostly used in the sciences and applies to contents, with many possible sources be briefly referenced or paraphrased.

However, if you have completed your primary research, then doing secondary research may be easier for you. So if you are about doing secondary research, this article is just for you. We are aware of the stress you went through while doing the primary research, so we are here to assist you this time around.

What is secondary research?

Unlike primary research, where researchers collect data by themselves, a third party has already collected it. Such data can be collected from various websites, government sources, magazines/books, and past research on the topic. In secondary research, the researcher uses these past data to analyze current situations.

Methods for doing secondary dissertation research

There are three methods for doing secondary research.

• Secondary data set in isolation:
• Using both two secondary data sets
• Using both secondary and primary data sets

4 steps to doing your secondary research

1. Get your research questions

Developing your research questions is an essential requirement for all types of researches. You may be fortunate to receive research questions from your supervisor when doing an undergraduate thesis. However, this is not the same for higher-level degrees. To come up with thoughtful questions, first, identify your research area/topic your aim. You then read widely on the subject, including previous research. If you identify any gap in them, set your questions around those areas. After all, your research is to build on knowledge on the chosen topic.

2. Look for a secondary data set

After setting out your research questions, you then need to check on a secondary data set that suits it or reusable. Finding past data for your research would require reading several other pieces of literature on the chosen topic. You can get these data from government agencies, organizations, research centers or other researchers. If you chance on any search data, do the needful by contacting the original author and seeking their consent before using it. Beware that not seeking such authorization may create copyright issues.

3. Data Evaluation

Some secondary data may not be fully compatible with your research purpose. The data collected may be very old or not fit for the current goal or contrary to your research questions. Therefore, you may need to evaluate the secondary data and realign it to suit your needs. You would need to assess the original research’s purpose, when the study was done, the methodology for collecting data. You need to evaluate and validate all these, identify the setbacks, and find solutions to them.

4. Prepare and analyze secondary data

After your evaluation process, you need to prepare your secondary data set. In case you are doing quantitative research, outline the various variables you will rely on. Afterward, identifying them, save the file to the software you are cognizant of. Then find the missing data to make the work complete.

How Do You Begin?

Starting a dissertation abstract is always a challenge for students. It is important to note that if there is a false start; then the cookies will easily crumble. The statement should be one that is considered as the truth without any iota of doubt. This is the point where you are to arrest the curiosity of your readers.

If you lose them here, they will not be interested in reading through your work. This is where you should take advantage of presenting the angle of thought based on facts which will be a concise summary of your work. What can we liken the beginning to? We can liken it to when people write a proposal for several academic purposes.

The abstract comes at the beginning of a paper and it tells the reader what to expect in the body of the dissertation. This should be brief and must follow a particular pattern in line with your discipline area. You must make the first impression here which will get the reader hooked to your work.

How Should It Look Like?

Now that you have known how to arrest the attention of your reader; the next stage is to consider how the abstract is really going to look like. Your abstract can be any descriptive or abstract. Let us explain in fuller details:

Descriptive Abstract: Like the name, it is a description of the information found in the work through the use of key phrases and words. The information offered the readers might border around- purpose, scope, and methods. It is kept short and is not more than 100 words.

Informative Abstract: This is more detailed because it contains the highlights of the main findings and conclusions through the presentation of the main arguments. The length is between 250-350 words which are clearly longer than the descriptive abstract. 

It is worthy of note to state here that the abstract should only consist of one paragraph which should be a representation of everything that has to do with the entire work. You are advised to go through the entire work and get a full grasp of it before penning down the abstract. 

Nothing should be left to chances. Make sure you read through the work and place it side by side with the abstract. Does it represent the entire work? It is only when you are satisfied that you can heave a sigh of relief that you have achieved the aim of introducing the work to your readers in one single paragraph.

Final Thought

If you really want to connect to all your readers, then you are supposed to use plain English that will be clear to every reader irrespective of their level of literacy. You need the practice to get things right when writing an abstract that will hit the nail on the head.

Questions have been asked and it is still been asked on the best approach to use while writing dissertation literature. Among other things, you are expected to identify and read your sources; consider the gaps in the research among several other requirements. Now, how do begin and end well? The following tips will be of valuable help:

1 Sample Literature Review

Take a look at the sample literature review in your area of specialization and make sure you read through such thoroughly to familiarize yourself with such. Pay attention to the academic language used in other to familiarize yourself with the style of writing used.

2 Make It Simple

Make it very simple. There are several sources online that you can explore to get the best results. You are not to explore everything that concerns your topic in question. The concentration should be narrowed down in your literature review. You are expected to state the focus of your work here.

3 Current Sources

It is important to ensure that your sources are fresh. If your focus is on the medical field, for instance, any info that relates to this field might change within one year. It is important to balance your theory with the approach that is currently in vogue. 

4 Organization Of The Work

Take extra care to present a literature review that has a seamless flow. Where there is a disjointed combination of your work; you will not get the desired results on offer. A lot is expected of every scholar here. You have to think about the following areas and make sure they are properly organized:

The basic structure comes first

Extra attention should be paid to the structure of the body

It is mandatory to get the organization of the work right to achieve expected results.

5 The Paragraphs Of The Body

The next thing to execute at this stage after organizing the work in a way that will suit you is to take the step of writing the paragraphs of the body. Draw inspirations from sample paragraphs that are related to your field; make use of academic terms in the body of the paragraph as well as linking words that are important to writing an excellent literature review. 

If you are the one responsible for the conduct of the primary review; you are entitled to make bold claims. You are licensed to use the first person singular ‘l’.

6 The Conclusion 

You have to include only the summary of the implications that you have established in your literature here. It should be linked to your argument or general research. 

Final Take

You are advised to take note of the following essential steps which apply across all the areas of the discipline. Here are the highlights:

Do not describe the opinions of writers hook line and sinker

Use various techniques in structuring the body of your write-up

There should be ample evidence

Be selective in your use of materials

Use less direct quotes

Make your voice loud

Referencing should be correct.

After you have undertaken the write-up of the body of your dissertation, the following approach should be used in executing perfectly their introduction into the dissertation.

The Introduction

This is the starting point so to say and it should contain the following elements:

• The preliminary background information should be provided here which will put your research into context.
• You must clarify the focus of your dissertation to the readers here
• What is the value(s) of the dissertation? It should be clearly stated here.
• The aims of the research should be clearly stated here.

All the sections above should be approached in a way that will give the best results in terms of understanding. The background section should be clear enough to every reader and it must introduce them to your topic. The focus should be structured to provide information on the research as well as give credence to the study.

The value section deserves its own subtopic under the introduction. As for the research and objectives; the following should be remembered if you are to make the best out of it:

• It should be appropriate
• Must be distinct
• Should be very clear
• Must be achievable

The Conclusion

If you have done a perfect work, the conclusion will make you have a sense of achievement; if things do not go your way, it will present a load of challenges. You are expected to wrap-up here by creating something that will convince your readers. If you want to avoid the pitfalls; the following parts are mandatory:

• The Research Objectives
• Your Recommendations
• The contributions to knowledge

You are to answer only two questions under the research objective. The recommendation will offer advice on what you think should happen next. Under the contributions, you are expected to understudy what has been researched in the past and build on the existing protocol. 

The Abstract

If you are to present a good abstract, it must contain the following parts:

• Your statement question or problem you want to solve
• The research methods adopted
• The main results and findings
• The major recommendations and main conclusions

Questions To Be Kept In Mind

The following questions should be kept in mind and should dictate your direction of flow as you write this section:

• Is the focus identified? Is it clear enough?
• Has the rationale behind the study presented clearly?
• Is the approach to the conduct of the research relevant?
• What about the summary of the main findings? Has it been provided?
• What have l done with the main conclusions and recommendations?

The above are questions that you must provide genuine answers to if you want to make the desired headway.

Final take

The above represents the best way to go about getting the best results from Introduction; Conclusion And Abstract Of your Dissertation.